The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low centre of gravity for safe cornering. Hansom's original design was modified by John Chapman and several others to improve its practicability, but retained Hansom's name.
Hansom cab and driver in the 2004 movie Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, set in 1903 London
Hansom cab, London, 1904
London Cabmen, 1877
Hansom cab, showing low easy entry, trap door on top, and folding doors to protect passengers from weather and mud
A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping or, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are usually owner-driven.
A carriage in London
Competitive driving in Rennes, France
Coach of a noble family, c. 1870
Reconstruction of a Roman traveling carriage richly decorated with bronze fittings, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne
